Raindrops On Roses
by Mare1
Summary: A girl from Spike’s past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.
1. Slayer Dreams

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season six somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. Comments, criticism, its all good. J 

A/N: Heh, changed this story around multiple times. Think I finally have it how I want it and won't need to repost it anymore. Also, when I do the characters thinking or talking to themselves its rather disorganized and not always comprehensible. Who thinks all nice and logically?

Chapter One : Slayer Dreams

***

__

Summoner of the end and the beginning.

From whence the yawning abyss infernal regions manifest.

Bearing tribute to the darkness.

A gruesome creature lurked in the shadows, relatively unseen except for the slight illumination offered by the blindingly bright symbols that were written on the paper of the night. It's narrowed slits of eyes shone a brilliant green for the space of a second and then went a murkey black. Darkness swirled around her and from it figures took form, created out of the darkness. Creatures of nightmares and horror stories.

***

Buffy awoke with a start, her heart racing as she bolted upright in bed. A quick glance around showed her that her bedroom was empty. Everything was as it should be, there was no movement save for the gentle ruffling of the curtains by a breeze. She dragged her hands through her blonde locks, her heart rate slowing, her breathing becoming even once more, and she slowly lowered her head back down to the pillow with a sigh. She wished she had the comfort that most people had of consoling herself with the knowledge that it was just a dream. But the Slayer knew better. Tomorrow she'd talk to her friends and see if they could come up with anything. That dream had practically shouted 'slayer prophetic dream' at her. With that thought she drifted back off to a this time dreamless sleep.

***

The next evening the Scoobies all sat around the table in the Magic Box. Stacks of books were strewn haphazardly over the table top as the group searched through the tombs of demonic lore.

"You know, this would be a whole lot easier if everyone throughout the course of history spoke the same way. What's wrong with modern English? Who needs all this 'From whence the yawning abyss infernal legions manifest'? How about; 'Yeah, and those evil dudes, they came from the Hellmouth.' Much more comprehendible, really."

The group circling the table glanced up briefly as Xander spoke, exchanging a look, before ignoring his grumbles and returning to the research.

Xander huffed, "What? Normal language is our friend."

"Oh!" The redheaded witch at the far end of the table perked up, the others glancing to her expectantly. After a moment her face fell, "…Er, never mind…unless anyone was interested in making their toenails grow real fast?"

"It's on my to do list." The blonde slayer stated dryly. After a moment she snapped shut the book that she had been skimming though. "That's it. I can't find anything that relates to the dream, and my eyes are starting to blur. I'm going to patrol."

She pushed back from the table and stood up. The platinum blonde vampire sitting on a chair in the corner -- not quite a part of the group -- rose as well, putting his own book on a nearby shelf.

"I'll tag along." He glanced at Buffy, intensely blue eyes almost daring her to argue. Spike knew full well that she wasn't interested in his company and, if truth be told, he wasn't quite sure he was up to an oh so joyous round of 'kick-the-spike' tonight, but if he had to read through one more text he was going to go bloody insane. Going patrolling was the lesser of two evils. Besides, killing something might just improve his temperament.

Buffy opened her mouth to protest then quickly shut it when she noticed his gaze.

"Fine, whatever." She glanced over at the rest of the Scoobies. "Tara, Willow, will you make sure you guys get Dawn home before eleven?"

"But.." The teen started to whine, but a glare from her sister silenced her and had her slouching back in her seat with a scowl.

"Call me if you find anything."

Xander gave Buffy an absent salute as he flipped through the pages of the book before him.

Buffy grabbed her leather jacket that rested over a chair and headed for the door, the blonde vampire following in her wake. She slipped the jacket on, then froze suddenly as an icy chill swept through her, like subzero tentacles snaking up her spine. She shivered once, glancing at the door; it hadn't been opened.

"Whoa, major chill. Did you feel that?" She asked Spike, forgetting who, or more accurately, what, her companion was for a moment.

Spike quirked one scarred brow at her,

"Uh, vampire, luv. Remember?" With that he opened the door to the Magic Box and swaggered out into the night, leaving Buffy to follow.

***


	2. Whispers

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season 6 somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. J 

A/N: Thanx ever so much to all those who reviewed! Makes me very happy. Heh.

Chapter Two : Whispers

The vampire and Slayer made their way through the familiar graveyard in a less than companionable silence; each lost in their own thoughts.

Spike was being surprisingly silent tonight, the Slayer thought. Making none of the sly, sexy innuendos he normally seemed to so enjoy taunting her with. She wouldn't have admitted it under threat of torture, but she was almost disappointed. Annoying though it may be, verbally sparring with the blonde vamp was always entertaining. Besides. she fidgeted, absently twirling her stake in her hand; silent Spike was just unnerving.

Spike glanced briefly at his companion from the corner of his eyes, wondering what had her so strung up. With a mental shrug he's mind trailed back to his own thoughts. The Slayer really was an immense pain in his ass. To bad he hadn't killed her way back when, then he wouldn't be having these difficulties. Of course, he couldn't rectify these problems by killing her now. No. He had to go and fall bloody head over heels for the petite blonde. He'd thought things would be better after that night in the building. Them shagging and all. But no, cause that's all it was for her -- sex. No feelings, no nothing. She still treated him like crap, but no matter, protect her and hers till the sodding end of the world, he would. 'Cause he loved her. Bugger it.

A rustling sounded in the bushes to their left and the two halted as three newly risen vampires leapt out from the dark foliage.

"Looky here, a midnight snack." One of the vamps said.

Buffy rolled her eyes, sighing.

"You guys really need to come up with some new lines. 'Midnight snack'? I hear that one at least once a week. C'mon, I should at least get some original witty banter before I kill you." 

Simultaneously the bleached vamp and the slayer spun out with a roundhouse kick to two vampires closest to them. Despite the intricacies of hate and love that formed their relationship, for lack of a better term, the duo was still perfectly attuned to each other.

After an extremely brief scuffle the three vampires were floating away in the breeze, with neither Spike nor Buffy much worse for wear.

Buffy sighed as they once again resumed their patrol through the graveyard. She almost wished the three vampires had been more of a challenge, they'd offered a welcome, but all too brief, distraction from her thoughts. Now it was back to the uncomfortable silence. She lifted her gaze to glance over at Spike, the vamp was sauntering beside her, his face impassive. She opened her mouth, then shut it again, returning her attention back to the graveyard. Didn't look like there would be anymore beasties tonight. 

***

"This is boring. I think we should stop now, Xander. This taking up my valuable sex time." Anya whined to her fiancé.

Dawn made a 'ew' face and Willow glanced up from the scripture she was reading.

"Anya's right." She quickly backpedaled, "N-not about the whole lack of sex time thing, but we probably should stop. Its getting late, we're getting no where."

The Scoobies all nodded their agreement and the books were shut, stacked neatly in piles and on shelves. Mumbling goodnights to each other, the gang filed out of the Magic Box, with Willow, Tara, and Dawn heading to the Summers' house and Anya and Xander to their home after closing up the store.

Anya shut the door to the Magic Box and it whispered closed with what sounded a lot like an exasperated sigh.

The inside of the store was dark and silent, the only illumination coming from the faint glow of the street lights outside. Everything was still inside the shop, everything in its place; books were stacked neatly, myriad crystals and other assorted magical 'goodies' lined the countertops each giving off their own ethereal glow. As the moon moved higher into the blanket of darkness that was night, the draperies inside the Magic Box rustled, which was odd for the complete lack of motion in the shop. There was a loud 'thunk', the dull sound of something heavy and metal connecting with wood followed by the eerie sound of parchment flipping madly.

In a moment it had halted and once again everything was still in the shop, the whispers of movement could very have well been a product of someone's imagination.

The silence had returned and it appeared that nothing had occurred; none of the merchandise was missing from the shelves or counters, nor was any of it misplaced, all of it remaining as Anya had left it.

Except there. Over on the table were the Scoobies had been researching. A heavy volume, its dark leather bindings reinforced with tarnished silver, lay open on the top of the table. The left page pictured a faded replica of a demonic hell beast, large and ominous looking. Claws and fangs, scaly body armor, and an obvious aura of evil decorated the creature.

And in the shadow of the faint moonlight that seeped into the Magic Box its eyes seemed to glow a feral green.


	3. Whiskers on Kittens

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season 6 somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. J 

A/N: Thanx once again to all those who reviewed! This is a very, very short chapter I know. But I really didn't want to post it in combination with the next segment that follows. Don't worry though. I have that all typed up and it should be on in a couple of hours.

Chapter Three : Whiskers on Kittens

A young child, scarcely more than four years old, sat huddled in the corner of a room. She wrapped her spindly arms around her legs, propping her chin up upon her knees. People milled about the room, murmuring in hushed voices to each other. The tot wasn't paying much attention, nor would she have comprehended much that was said if she had been, but she caught snippets of conversation.

"… a lovely woman."

"Poor Geoffrey."

"D'you think Richard will attend Madame Carithers'…?"

"Just him and..."

"… image of her mother she is."

"Celia, put that down."

"God rest her soul."

A boy, just entering his preteen years, with brown-gold walked through the crowded room. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught sight of the little girl toying with the edges of her somber-hued dress as she remained huddled in the shadows all alone. He made his way over to her and crouched down before the tiny child.

"Hello."

The youth lifted her head from her knees to reveal large sea green eyes and cherubic features decorated with the last vestiges of tears. The young boy sat down cross-legged before the girl.

"M'name's William."

The child blinked up at him, intrigued by this older boy whom had decided to pay her attention.

"Hiya, Will. I'm Catherine. "

She pursed her lips in thought, even at a young age the child had a tendency to ramble.

"My mommy's Catherine too, so people call me Catie and her Cat. Mommy isn't here anymore, she went away to go live with angels, so does that make me Cat?"

Her lower lip trembled, clearly displeased with the conclusion her childish logic had brought her to. The boy, William, showing a surprising amount of compassion for a youth his age, gathered the toddler into his lap, stroking her mop of her copper curls in comfort.

"Naw, your too little to be a Cat. More like a kitten."


	4. A New Evil

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season 6 somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. J Thanx ever so much to all those who reviewed! Makes me very happy. Heh. I know last chapter was really short, so this one is a little better. I was wondering, I've been chopping my chapters up and only posting like half of them in order to get things updated quicker. Would you guys rather the short chapters and quicker updates or longer chapters and a little bit less quick updates? Let me know.

Chapter Four : A New Evil 

Anya and Willow walked into the Magic Box the next morning, Anya to open up the store and Willow to grab a crystal for a spell she wanted to try. The former vengeance demon made her way over to the cash register to 'check on' her money, smiling happily when she opened it to see the little green pieces of paper that came second only to sex in her list of priorities. Glancing up she saw a book lying open on the floor of the shop, a scowl moving over her face.

"Hey! What have I told you people about putting the books back after one of your little research parties? Neat stores get more customers and sub sequentially more money."

Willow frowned -- she didn't remember leaving any of the books out last night -- then shrugged, gave Anya an absent apology, and went over to put the book back were it belonged. She crouched down to pick it up and her gaze landed on the gruesome beast that was pictured. The red-headed witch gave a slight shudder, now there was something she sure wouldn't want to meet. Curious, she scanned the text, stopping when she came to an vaguely familiar sounding passage.

"And from the yawning maw, infernal legions he shall summon…Oh, my…"

Anya looked up from her money counting.

"What?"

"I think I found something that might have to do with that dream Buffy had the other night. C'mon we better get the others."

***

The Scoobies, minus Dawn since she was at her friend Janice's house for the day, once again gathered around the table in the Magic Box.

"So, when you came in this morning the book was just laying there open to this page." Buffy asked.

"Yeah, some coincidence, huh?" Willow replied.

"Hmm…yeah." She said noncommittally, having learned a long time ago that rarely anything was ever an innocent coincidence. Pushing that to the back of her mind she looked back at the leather bound book.

"So, this Moreodd…" Buffy began.

"Muerab." The Wicca interjected.

"Right. This Muerab demon is some sort of general guy or something who leads the hell soldiers I dreamt about."

"Not leads." Anya corrected, "He creates them. A Muerab demon uses the very essence of evil and gives it solid form."

The rest of her explination was cut short when the tinkling of the bell and the slamming of a door announced the arrival of one chipped vampire. The familiar blanket he used to hide from the sun was smoking on the edges as he threw it in the corner. He walked nonchalantly the rest of the way in, ignoring the stares of the Scoobies.

"What are you doing here?" Xander glared at the vampire.

"Feeling a bit peckish, wanted some more burbaweed for th' blood."

Buffy looked at him reproachfully. 

"You couldn't of waited until night? You know, that time where you don't combust and turn into a pile of ashes."

He smirked at her.

"You worried about me, pet?"

"Not likely," She snorted.

"You should know that I've some insatiable appetites, luv." He leered at her and Buffy fought a blush, glancing nervously at her friends, but they mercifully remained oblivious of the exchange. "Was too impatient to wait."

"Whatever. Sine you're here you can help research." She shoved a book in his direction and he made a show of reluctance before agreeing -- there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for the blonde slayer.

"Anyways, as I was saying," Anya continued with her explanation. "A Muerab demon doesn't lead an army, he creates it. The army doesn't need any leadership. They are embodied with their duty when they are created."

""Nasty little buggars they are." Spike put in his two cents. "Cause more destruction in a night than the magnificent poof did in his unlife. Last time I remember any of their kind made an appearance was during the second world war. They aren't really there. No feelings, no wants. So you can't buy 'em off or anything. They just want to complete the task they're made for."

"And what is that task?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine, Slayer. Muerab demons rarely raise the armies on their own. Someone or something normally coerces them into doing it. So the task would be whatever that person or creature wants."

"So are they here in Sunnydale?" Tare questioned.

"No. Like I said, they wreck complete havoc wherever they go. They probably haven't been summoned yet. If they were anywhere in the world even the intensely daft human population wouldn't fail to notice. Might not realize it's demons, but they'd notice." Spike explained.

"So, is their anyway to stop them from being summoned in the first place?" Willow asked?

"Kill the Muerab demon?" Xander suggested.

"Right. So, how would I do that?" The slayer looked to the vampire and ex-vengeance demon who both shrugged. She sighed and sat down at the table. "And back to the books we go."

And so the group resumed the tedious pastime of research. Over on the checkout counter of the magic box a display of charmed jewels, stones, and crystals sat. A turquoise stone in the center trembled once then rose from the group to float a few inches above the countertop. A second later, its neighbor a rose quartz began to lift from the display to float the barest bit above the stone. Suddenly both fell to the counter with a loud clatter. The Scoobies looked up with a start from the books and tomes they had been reading.

"What was that?"

They all looked around the shop, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary -- which is saying something for anyplace in Sunnydale. Exchanging glances, the group turned their attention back to the books with a mental shrug, figuring it to be nothing. 

All except Spike that is. He stood rigidly beside the stairs, appearing to concentrate intently.

"There's something here."

"Something here?" The blonde Wicca said. "I-I don't see anything…"

The rest of the gang looked around once more, still not seeing anything.

"Your delusional." Xander told Spike.

"No…" Buffy interrupted, her slayer sense kicking in. "I think Spike's right, there's something here."


	5. Invisible Foes

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season 6 somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. J Thanx ever so much to all those who reviewed! Makes me very happy. Heh. I know last chapter was really short, so this one is a little better. I was wondering, I've been chopping my chapters up and only posting like half of them in order to get things updated quicker. Would you guys rather the short chapters and quicker updates or longer chapters and a little bit less quick updates? Let me know.

Chapter Five : Invisible Foes

You didn't happen to do one of those fun no-see-demon spells of yours, did you, Tara?" Xander gently teased the girl and she blushed, shaking her head.

"N-no"

"Maybe it's a ghost!" Willow said excitedly. "That'd be neat," Buffy raised an eyebrow, glancing over at her friend, "Er, well." She paused remember the few encounters with ghosts they had had before when the tragic lovers had possessed people and the spirits disturbed by Buffy and Riley's mattress dance. "On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be very cool."

"Well, if it is a bloody spook just tell it to reveal itself, then you'll be able to see the beastie. Might only last a second or so depending upon how powerful it is, but at least you'll get a look at it."

"Tell it to reveal itself?" Buffy questioned.

"Uh-huh. If you tell a ghost to reveal itself it has no choice but to do so, if its strong it might only flash into view for a moment though like Spike said." Anya said then proceeded to demonstrate with a holler, " Hey! Ghost who's in my store, reveal yourself!"

The group waited expectantly, but nothing appeared.

"Uh…Ahn, do you think you did it wrong?"

She huffed, "It can't be done wrong. You just tell it to show itself and it has no choice but to do so. It must not be a ghost."

"You sure there's something here, Buff? Maybe both you and Dead Boy Junior are hallucinating."

"Maybe…" Buffy conceded.

At that moment the crystal and the stone lifted simultaneously off the counter and wavered teasingly in the air before settling gently back in the display. This time all of the Scoobies caught the act.

"So much for your wonky senses theory, whelp."

"So, there's something here, but not a ghost. Some sort of invisible demon? Maybe?" Willow pondered.

"How do I fight it? The whole lack of seeing thing makes it a bit difficult to kill." Buffy complained.

Willow opened a nearby book and began flipping through it searching for invisible demons,

"Ooh, here's one. It says that a general revealing spell would work." She frowned, "But it also says that this demon can make itself not only invisible, but untouchable as well. A human would just walk right through it if they tried to touch it, and I'm pretty sure most revealing spells involve contact."

The group looked disappointed, close but no cigar, when Spike let out a snort.

"Well, that's easily solved, children. I'm not human, remember? It'll be solid for me. I can catch the little bugger then Red and Glinda can do whatever hocus pocus they need to."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think Spike's idea is our best bet."

A brief flicker of hurt flashed in the vampire's blue eyes. Dammit, would she ever accept him? Not Bloody likely. Before it could be seen, he masked the momentary glimpse of pain with his usual cocky sarcasm.

"Thanks ever so, Slayer." He glanced around the Magic Box, "Now to find the beastie so that I can capt-" 

He cut off with a grunt as an invisible force slammed into him. He muttered 

"Nevermind," and reached blindly out, grasping the unseen creature with both hands.

"Got it." His triumphant smirk dropped quickly away as the being fought back, trying to twist itself away from the vampire. Spike wrapped the length of his arms around it, grunting as his see through captive tried to break free.

Buffy swallowed a grin at the picture he presented. Her bad-ass vampire seemed to hold the air in a bear hug. Wait. Did she just say -her- bad-ass vampire. Not hers. Of course not. Don't like Spike. It's just sex. No possession, uh-uh. Okay, there was that one time with the handcuffs…. Ah! Bad Buffy mind! Back on topic.

"Can you bring it over here to Willow and Tara so they can do the spell?"

Spike nodded once and walked over to the table where he sat down, being able to more easily contain the fearsome creature with his lap and the table as barriers.

"Get on with it, Red. This demon is less that happy at the moment." He tightened his hold on the monster and one brow winged up as he registered that it had some decidedly female curves. A sneer moved over his chiseled features. " Well, then. And its definitely female."

Buffy gave him her patented 'your a pig, Spike' look and he let out a sudden surprised yelp.

"Bloody hell! The thing bit me!"

"Guess it wasn't too happy with you feeling it up." Buffy smirked and Spike glared at her.

Willow glanced over nervously, "Uh, it's a vampire invisible demon? I don't think I like that combination."

"No, not a vamp, Red." Spike glanced down at his arm which showed the imprint of a row of blunt teeth. "Didn't break the skin. Now hurry up!" He growled it, getting tired of struggling with the demon.

Willow nodded and she and Tara stood on either side of Spike, each with one hand on his shoulder and holding onto each other with the second. Both girls closed their eyes and began the spell.

"Hidden from body

Hidden from sight

Release thy binding spell

Reveal thyself to the light!"

The wind picked up in the Magic Box and an odd crimson hued smoke swirled around the invisible demon.


	6. Invisible Foes

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season 6 somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. J Thanx ever so much to all those who reviewed! Makes me very happy. Heh. I know last chapter was really short, so this one is a little better. I was wondering, I've been chopping my chapters up and only posting like half of them in order to get things updated quicker. Would you guys rather the short chapters and quicker updates or longer chapters and a little bit less quick updates? Let me know.

Chapter Five : Invisible Foes

You didn't happen to do one of those fun no-see-demon spells of yours, did you, Tara?" Xander gently teased the girl and she blushed, shaking her head.

"N-no"

"Maybe it's a ghost!" Willow said excitedly. "That'd be neat," Buffy raised an eyebrow, glancing over at her friend, "Er, well." She paused remember the few encounters with ghosts they had had before when the tragic lovers had possessed people and the spirits disturbed by Buffy and Riley's mattress dance. "On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be very cool."

"Well, if it is a bloody spook just tell it to reveal itself, then you'll be able to see the beastie. Might only last a second or so depending upon how powerful it is, but at least you'll get a look at it."

"Tell it to reveal itself?" Buffy questioned.

"Uh-huh. If you tell a ghost to reveal itself it has no choice but to do so, if its strong it might only flash into view for a moment though like Spike said." Anya said then proceeded to demonstrate with a holler, " Hey! Ghost who's in my store, reveal yourself!"

The group waited expectantly, but nothing appeared.

"Uh…Ahn, do you think you did it wrong?"

She huffed, "It can't be done wrong. You just tell it to show itself and it has no choice but to do so. It must not be a ghost."

"You sure there's something here, Buff? Maybe both you and Dead Boy Junior are hallucinating."

"Maybe…" Buffy conceded.

At that moment the crystal and the stone lifted simultaneously off the counter and wavered teasingly in the air before settling gently back in the display. This time all of the Scoobies caught the act.

"So much for your wonky senses theory, whelp."

"So, there's something here, but not a ghost. Some sort of invisible demon? Maybe?" Willow pondered.

"How do I fight it? The whole lack of seeing thing makes it a bit difficult to kill." Buffy complained.

Willow opened a nearby book and began flipping through it searching for invisible demons,

"Ooh, here's one. It says that a general revealing spell would work." She frowned, "But it also says that this demon can make itself not only invisible, but untouchable as well. A human would just walk right through it if they tried to touch it, and I'm pretty sure most revealing spells involve contact."

The group looked disappointed, close but no cigar, when Spike let out a snort.

"Well, that's easily solved, children. I'm not human, remember? It'll be solid for me. I can catch the little bugger then Red and Glinda can do whatever hocus pocus they need to."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think Spike's idea is our best bet."

A brief flicker of hurt flashed in the vampire's blue eyes. Dammit, would she ever accept him? Not Bloody likely. Before it could be seen, he masked the momentary glimpse of pain with his usual cocky sarcasm.

"Thanks ever so, Slayer." He glanced around the Magic Box, "Now to find the beastie so that I can capt-" 

He cut off with a grunt as an invisible force slammed into him. He muttered 

"Nevermind," and reached blindly out, grasping the unseen creature with both hands.

"Got it." His triumphant smirk dropped quickly away as the being fought back, trying to twist itself away from the vampire. Spike wrapped the length of his arms around it, grunting as his see through captive tried to break free.

Buffy swallowed a grin at the picture he presented. Her bad-ass vampire seemed to hold the air in a bear hug. Wait. Did she just say -her- bad-ass vampire. Not hers. Of course not. Don't like Spike. It's just sex. No possession, uh-uh. Okay, there was that one time with the handcuffs…. Ah! Bad Buffy mind! Back on topic.

"Can you bring it over here to Willow and Tara so they can do the spell?"

Spike nodded once and walked over to the table where he sat down, being able to more easily contain the fearsome creature with his lap and the table as barriers.

"Get on with it, Red. This demon is less that happy at the moment." He tightened his hold on the monster and one brow winged up as he registered that it had some decidedly female curves. A sneer moved over his chiseled features. " Well, then. And its definitely female."

Buffy gave him her patented 'your a pig, Spike' look and he let out a sudden surprised yelp.

"Bloody hell! The thing bit me!"

"Guess it wasn't too happy with you feeling it up." Buffy smirked and Spike glared at her.

Willow glanced over nervously, "Uh, it's a vampire invisible demon? I don't think I like that combination."

"No, not a vamp, Red." Spike glanced down at his arm which showed the imprint of a row of blunt teeth. "Didn't break the skin. Now hurry up!" He growled it, getting tired of struggling with the demon.

Willow nodded and she and Tara stood on either side of Spike, each with one hand on his shoulder and holding onto each other with the second. Both girls closed their eyes and began the spell.

"Hidden from body

Hidden from sight

Release thy binding spell

Reveal thyself to the light!"

The wind picked up in the Magic Box and an odd crimson hued smoke swirled around the invisible demon.


	7. Or Not

Title : Raindrops on Roses

Rating : We're just gonna go with PG-13, at the moment it's like G or PG or something, but I know eventually that's gonna change, so lets just keep the whole thing PG-13...of course if I bring it into R territory then I'll have to change it. 

Summary: A girl from Spike's past shows up in Sunnydale bearing ominous news.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not even a teeny bit. Tisn't mine. I only kidnapped the lil' charries for a bit, but sadly enough they all belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Setting : This is up to season 6 somewhere then AU. Not sure of the exact episode where I would place this. Spike and Buffy have started doing the horizontal rumba. Also in my little universe Willow never got all addicted to magic, so Tara never left. Umm…well, as of yet I have no idea what else I'm gonna change, but don't be at all surprised if things really don't follow what happened

A/N: This is my first fan fic -ever-. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd R + R, like to know whatcha all think of my attempt. J Thanx ever so much to all those who reviewed! Makes me very happy. Heh.

Chapter Six : Or Not

***

The Scoobies waited for the cloud of smoke to disperse and reveal whatever malicious hell beast had decided to wreck havoc on them this time. The tendrils of smoke drifted away and there, trapped in the manacles that were Spike's arms sat a tiny young woman with a delicate pout playing over her features. 

Copper curls sprung this way and that, the turmoil of fiery red locks framing a pixie-like face. Her features were finely made, small and delicate, giving the impression of an ethereal sprite. A smattering of freckles adorned her pert nose, the drops of color adding mischief to her classically smooth ivory complexion. Her most prominent feature was her expressive emerald eyes. Livened with flecks of molten gold and containing an amusement of life itself in their depths; they added a more adult beauty to the impish innocence of her face. She wasn't very grand in stature, a petite faerie-sized girl who was no more than a scarce five feet, slender nearly to the point of being scrawny, with the delicate bones normally attributed to a robin or some other such bird. 

The gang stared in surprise at the figure before them. Having expected some gruesome demon, the dainty looking before them was quite a shock. The girl twisted slightly in the arms of her captor so he could see her face. Spike's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, arms falling away from his captive.

"Cathryne?"

An impish beam moved over the young woman's features as she met Spike's shocked gaze.

"Hiya, Will."

The group sitting at the table all exchanged startled glances as the two greeted each other.

The flame-haired sprite pouted at the vampire as he had yet to do more than stare at her, her expression one of mock hurt.

"What? I don't get a hug?"

That broke him out of his dazed state and a brilliant grin moved over his chiseled features. Buffy idily wondered if she'd ever actually seen him smile with that much pure elation before -- besides the time they had been unders Willow's spell. Spike wrapped his arms tightly around the girl.

"Catie…Kitten."

The red head returned the embrace, tossing her arms around the vampire and brushing her lips over his cheek. The Slayer flinched slightly as the two embraced, observing nearly tangible flow of affection that ran between the couple with a surprising twinge of jealousy. It wasn't like she loved him or anything, hell she didn't even know if she liked him most of the time.

Spike chuckled and loosened his hold on the girl, through not releasing her completely. He lifted a large hand and brushed it over her copper curls before cupping her cheek gently in his palm.

"How've you been, Kitten?"

"Neck deep in trouble."

The two grinned at each other like a pair o"Catie…Kitten."

The red head returned the embrace, tossing her arms around the vampire and brushing her lips over his cheek. The Slayer flinched slightly as the two embraced, observing nearly tangible flow of affection that ran between the couple with a surprising twinge of jealousy. It wasn't like she loved him or anything, hell she didn't even know if she liked him most of the time.

Spike chuckled and loosened his hold on the girl, through not releasing her completely. He lifted a large hand and brushed it over her copper curls before cupping her cheek gently in his palm.

"How've you been, Kitten?"

"Neck deep in trouble."

The two grinned at each other like a pair of nuts, the exchange obviously an old tradition.

Xander cleared his throat and raised a hand, drawing the absorbed duoes attention back to the rest of the gang whom they had completely forgotten were present.

"Uh…representing those of us who have no idea what's going on: you two know each other?"

Realising he had been grinning like a loon at the girl still perched om his lap the peroxide blonde schooled his features back into his customary 'Big Bad' sneer and replied sarcastically.

"No, whelp. N'er seen the chit before in my life."

Catie swiveled around on Spike's lap to face the five people at the table, their expressions a range from shock on Xander's part to curiosity on Willow's to vague annoyance on Buffy's. A friendly smile curved her lips as she lifted a hand in a cheerful wave.

"Hi. I'm Catie."

***

A/N : Once again, thanks sooooo much to all those who reviewed! :: snugz an' lollipops for all. :: Ooh, and apologies for my double posting of the last chapter. Must fix that. Anywho, hoped you liked this latest installment. Try to give mah girl Catie a chance even if she seems to be hedging in on Spuffiness. :: proudly diplays her "I love B/S" pin. :: Trust me. J 


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